Drew Wolitarsky a big-game player for Winnipeg as Bombers prepare for West final

The ball, and the magnitude of the moment it could create came at him on such an inviting arc that Winnipeg receiver Drew Wolitarsky couldn’t hear or see anything else.

He locked on the football and rose to the occasion; despite the noise of 30,000 fans fervently wishing aloud that he would just fall down, drop the ball or both; despite the slippery snow-dusted Mosaic Stadium turf and the incoming Saskatchewan defender Mike Edem.

“It felt like everything went quiet for a second. There was the snowfall, and I couldn’t really hear anything,” said Wolitarsky. “I saw the ball and it was a really, great feeling. Serenity, man. It was serenity.”

On a football field. In decidedly enemy territory. Imagine that.

Wolitarsky, a 23-year-old from Santa Clarita, Calif., said he experienced that feeling before in high school and during college games in Minnesota, and he knows exactly what is required of him in those moments.

“I honed in on it. I knew the importance. I knew I needed to run under it. I was just so lasered in, so focused on it.”

The throw from Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols was a perfect, 23-yard rainbow that touched down in Wolitarsky’s hands inside the Saskatchewan end zone. It turned the West semifinal in favour of Winnipeg, and they wouldn’t relinquish the 13-6 lead it gave them. They beat the Riders 23-18 and will play Calgary in the West Final on Sunday at McMahon Stadium.

The play, scrimmaged from the Saskatchewan 20, was a perfectly executed bit of deception. Edem bit on Nichols’ pump-fake and Wolitarsky suddenly had the separation he needed.

“We knew they were playing man and they were bringing some pressure. They were kind of looking for any quick routes we’re trying to get off because we’ve shown those in the past,” said Wolitarsky. “We knew what to expect and we baited that purposefully and it worked out great.”

So too the 2018 third-round entry draft pick the Bombers gave up so they could take Wolitarsky in the 2017 supplemental draft. He put up some decent numbers at the University of Minnesota and still holds the California state high school records for all-time catches at 281 and yards with 5,147, erasing previous marks set by Steve Smith, who had an injury-shortened NFL career. Wolitarsky wasn’t drafted by an NFL team and only got a perfunctory look at the Minnesota Vikings camp.

So the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder cast his eyes north, wrangled an exemption into the supplemental draft because his mother Audrey was born in Montreal. Wolitarsky played in just five games last season and caught one ball. He vowed to make himself a more valuable receiver in 2018.

“I think it’s a growing season, man. It started slow. I think I had to earn the trust from my coaches and my teammates. I took it as I had to show what I can do. I wanted to show that by the end of this year and into next year I could be a main target. I wanted to build up that trust so I would say this was a building block for me. It’s not over yet and I’m going to continue to grow. I think I can play here for a long time.”

He led the Bombers in catches with five and yards with 68 on Sunday. And if the Riders spent more time game-planning to stop Darvin Adams and Weston Dressler, it was understandable and a mistake. Wolitarsky caught 45 passes for 650 yards through the 18-game regular season, nestled in between Adams at 1,028 and Dressler at 535.

But he also caught five TD passes, and only nine receivers in the league hauled in more. That speaks to stepping it up.

“He’s just a savvy football player that has a feel for the game,” said Nichols. “He’s a big-time playmaker. A very underrated player for our team. I don’t know what anyone thinks of him around the league. I can only assume that he’s a surprise for teams. It’s not that way for us.”

Wolitarsky thinks he flew into the CFL under the radar of most teams because of his combine stats, for which there is an explanation.

“I didn’t run a great 40 time (4.67 seconds) in the combine. I’m a much faster game player I think. I didn’t have the money to get the training for the combine. I just had to run by myself and do my best at that.

“I think I play fast. I play my speed. I just go out there and do my thing and it seems to work. … Whoever is on me, I’m not too worried about it. I feel I have the talent and the routes to get open at any cost.”

BARNES’ PREDICTIONS

Blue Bombers at Stampeders (-4.5)

Sunday, 4 p.m.,

It might surprise some, including Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson, to see the Stamps favoured by 4-1/2 points, despite losing to the Bombers 29-21 in Winnipeg in Week 20. The Stamps won the only other game between the teams, by a 39-26 count in Week 11 in Calgary. They were a whole lot healthier then, and that could still be a deciding factor in this game. Receivers Kamar Jorden, DaVaris Daniels, Reggie Begelton, Eric Rogers and Marken Michel were all on the sidelines when the Stamps clinched the West Division title in Week 21 with a win in B.C. Place Stadium. Calgary QB Bo Levi Mitchell, the West nominee for most outstanding player, is developing chemistry with a fleet of relatively new receivers, including Markeith Ambles, Bakari Grant and Chris Matthews. The Bombers are healthier, though LB Adam Bighill, the West’s most outstanding defensive player nominee, didn’t finish the West semi-final in Regina. Winnipeg’s offence will run through RB Andrew Harris, who wasn’t much of a factor in their two games against Calgary. He had a combined 22 rushes for 99 yards and no touchdowns.

DAN SAYS: Calgary by 3

Tiger-Cats at Redblacks (-3)

Sunday, 1 p.m.

Everything seems to be coming up Redblacks for this tilt. First, they won the East Division title by sweeping the Ticats in a crucial, late-season home-and-home series. That gave them a week off to rest up and recover. Ottawa actually won all three games between the teams, by scores of 21-15 and 31-13 in Hamilton, as well as 35-31 in Ottawa. All that said, the Ticats are led by QB Jeremiah Masoli. His mobility and strong arm makes him a difference maker. He threw a trio of TD passes last week as the Tabbies destroyed the B.C. Lions 48-8. Both Ottawa and Hamilton defences are stout against the run but susceptible to the passing game. Though Hamilton seems to have found a replacement for the injured receiver Brandon Banks, a fireplug named Bralon Addison, their go-to guy is still Luke Tasker, and he had two TD catches last week. The Redblacks counter with QB Trevor Harris and his three favourite targets; Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson and Diontae Spencer. It should be a shootout.

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